Last Updated on: 7th September 2026, 09:19 pm
I was looking up some stuff for another post that I want to do, and I discovered something neat that I never knew about. Apparently, there are some roads in the US that have been built with grooves in them, so if you drive at the right speed, 45 miles per hour, they sing a song! Seriously! That would have taken one heck of a lot of work.
Here’s a list of five of them, although some of them are closed, and some of them were built less well.
In case that page goes splat, here is the list.
- PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA
R. Lee Ermey Musical Road
The road plays 30 seconds of the Marine’s Hymn when driving over the grooved pavement. - ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
Musical Highway
If drivers cross the rumble strip on this stretch of Route 66 at just the right speed it plays “America the Beautiful.” - “Singing Runway” at the Abandoned Disney World Airport
The only runway directly into the magic kingdom has been closed since 1972, but it still sings to you if you drive fast enough. - LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
‘Remnal of a Senging Chave’
Behind legendary Meltdown Comics is a marker for an engineered musical roadway of the Tehachapi, the great road builders of Kcymaerxthaere. - LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA
Civic Musical Road
Finale of “William Tell Overture” can be heard as drivers pass over grooves in the road.
Because I was way too curious, I found videos showing 3 of these roads. Two of them are in the same video, and there is a lot of description of how it works.
And here’s one about the Route 66 bit outside of ALBUQUERQUE, although it seems like there’s also one in Springfield, Missouri that might work better.
I have also learned that there are musical roads in other countries. How have I never heard of this?
And I learned all of this while looking for something else. What a rabbit hole!
Wow! The related posts plugin just called me a filthy stinkin’ liar. Well, it would have, if it still wasn’t borkity borked. Apparently we knew about singing roads 8 years ago. And laughed at them. I had no memory of this. I agree with past Steve that they shouldn’t place a musical road near houses.
There’s a definite case of not remembering something I wrote. I vaguely recall it now that I’ve reread it, but when I first heard that I’d written about musical roads, I thought maybe there was another me somewhere. It never even crossed my mind all the times you’ve talked about them lately.
If drivers cross the rumble strip on this stretch of Route 66 at just the right speed it plays “America the Beautiful.”
I’m sorry. Why is it not playing Albuquerque by Weird Al?
Hahahahahaha it should. Although there’s not much of that song that is actually singing. I guess all the Albuquerque lines and the ones about tray tables and making a call. Lol. That would be funny. That song freaked me right the hell out the first time I heard it.